Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Racing => Topic started by: joy of essex on 20 March, 2018, 10:50:38 am
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What do you want or expect from a Race HQ?.
Our club , Lea Valley CC, is about to refurbish it's Essex Club Hut. It's one of the row of huts at Henham near the E1 start.
The plan is to improve the facilities for competitors both before and after an event, make it easier to run events from there and make it a place that our members and competitors want to use.
There are, however, conflicts between the desirable, the essential, the feasible and the affordable.
Ideally, we'd like to have separate mens' and womens' changing facilities with showers and wash basins. At the moment we have two wash basins and a shower that's never used: it's all rather basic, old school but not in a good way.
We also want to look at improving the space for signing on and where we post results and notices. If you've been there you'll know how cramped that area gets.
So both what do you want or expect from a Race HQ ? Do the facilities in race HQs put you off taking part in an event or in even taking part in TTs?
I 'd love to receive your opinions.
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Biggest queues seem to be for getting changed. Riders tend to use the loos to get into and out of skinsuits causing a backlog.
A dedicated changing area would always be useful. I'm less bothered about having a shower as I usually get changed and then shower when I get home.
Never really had a problem with the sign-on or getting near to the results board, though.
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Somewhere near the start. I'm usually getting to the event by bike/train so if I have to ride ten miles one way from the station to the HQ, then five miles back the other way to the start, it limits whether I can get there on time.
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Thanks , keep the comments coming.
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1. Separate changing, toilets and showers for male and female, preferably accessible without having to go through a main hall. These could be multiple smaller changing rooms, such as at a hall used to service many football pitches, where they can be allocated according to the need of the event.
2. A hall large enough to gather competitors together for briefing and to put on a spread afterwards.
3. A kitchen with direct access to the hall.
4. One or more smaller 'committee rooms' for race organisers etc to be able to do the behind the scenes race admin.
How much space/budget do you have?
These are not in order of priority.
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Very hospitable club, the Lee Valley BTW.
Doing the 25 in a few weeks. Let’s hope it’s as fast as last year.
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No specific comments - in recent years, I've used the Uts more for Audax events anyway - but great to hear that a member of the 32nd Association is developing the place for the future.
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That we are..
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I don't know how bothered your riders are about Members of the Opposite Sex catching sight of their Bodies. Personally, I like SPACE for changing and care not who sees what. A hall type area might be best for changing, with movable screen partitions for privacy and draught containment.
I would favour separate toilet facilities for men and women but would discourage riders to monopolise these by using them for changing clothes.
It would be nice to have a shower for muddy riders. I'd favour a couple of non-gendered unisex cubicles.
I had a kip at one of the 'uts when I did the Great Eastern in 1995. I don't know whose 'ut and I don't know if you are considering dorms.
Given how different events can be, I'd probably mostly go for a 'village hall' type model: flexible space with movable seats, tables, partitions and catering facilities.